Firefighters Strike Across England & Wales Continues

Firefighters across the country will take part in strike action this evening, as part of the ongoing pension dispute.

Firefighters will strike for the fifth consecutive day between 11pm this evening to 1am on Saturday morning.

Members of the Fire Brigade Union have this week been staging two hour walk outs, with the most recent strike action taking place between 6am and 8am this morning.

The strikes come as a result of the ongoing row with the Government over retirement ages and pensions.

Currently members are allowed to retire at the age of 55 and pay 11% of their wages into a pension scheme. Changes to the scheme already mean that many firefighters now pay 13%, and proposals could see the retirement raised to the age of 60. However recent proposals could see firefighters being sacked if they are not deemed fit enough for work in their late 50s.

A recent review carried out by the Government found that over half of current firefighters between the ages of 50 and 54 are no longer able to meet fire and rescue service fitness standards for fighting fires. Beyond the age of 55, two thirds fail to meet the standards.

Today’s strikes will be periods 24 and 25 of strike action since the campaign began.